German Plan to Scrap 9-to-5 Model Sparks Uproar as Small Firms Warn of Exclusion
22.06.2026 - 23:04:50 | boerse-global.de
When Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) presented a draft reform of Germany’s Working Hours Act on 18 June, the promise was clear: end the rigid eight-hour day. What businesses got instead, they say, is a fresh layer of complexity that leaves many behind.
The core idea sounds flexible enough. Employers could abandon the daily maximum in favour of a weekly cap, provided that health protection rules are anchored in a collective bargaining agreement. Workers could then clock up to 48 hours in a seven-day span, as long as the average over twelve months does not exceed that limit. It is a shift driven by data: the DIW reported a record 55 billion hours worked in 2023, and 638 million unpaid overtime hours were logged in 2024 alone.
Yet the collective-bargaining requirement has become the lightning rod. Dirk Jandura, president of the BGA (Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services), called the draft a breach of the 2025 coalition agreement between CDU, CSU, and SPD. “Modernisation is being replaced by new hurdles,” he said on Monday. Small and medium-sized enterprises without a collective agreement would be disadvantaged, he argued.
The German Confederation of Skilled Trades (ZDH) labelled the plan out of touch with reality, while the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Construction Companies (BVMB) branded it a patchwork. Managing director Gilka stressed that limiting flexibility to unionised firms ignores how many construction businesses actually operate. He wants the EU’s weekly maximum applied to all companies, regardless of their wage-setting model.
Gastronomy and hospitality hit back
The loudest complaints are coming from Bavaria and the tourism sector. Bavarian Tourism Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) demanded genuine flexibility for the hospitality industry, accusing the draft of falling short of earlier political commitments and piling on extra bureaucracy.
DEHOGA Baden-WĂĽrttemberg went further, calling for the entire draft to be withdrawn. The flashpoint is the mandatory electronic time-tracking system. Start, end and duration of each workday would have to be recorded on the day it happens. Exemptions? Again, only possible through collective bargaining.
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) estimates one-off conversion costs of about €77 million, offset by annual savings of roughly €169 million. Whether that calculus calms the critics is doubtful.
Political crossfire turns personal
Opposition spans party lines. Union secretary-general Carsten Linnemann rejected the draft last week. Manuela Schwesig (SPD), Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, faulted the lack of consultation with Germany’s federal states. The CSU parliamentary group in Bavaria called for fundamental changes to make time-tracking workable in everyday operations.
Minijobs on the chopping block
Running parallel to the hours debate, a government-appointed pension commission has proposed largely abolishing mini-jobs (low-wage, tax-favoured positions). DEHOGA managing director Jana Schimke warned of catastrophic consequences for the restaurant and hotel business, which could lose roughly half its workforce.
As of November 2025, Germany counted 7.81 million people in marginal employment. Employer associations such as the HDE have flagged alarm over the commission’s idea. Verdi chief Frank Werneke, by contrast, welcomed it. Labour Minister Bas now faces the rare challenge of being attacked from both sides of the political and economic spectrum at once.
